More evidence vegetarian diet may cut cancer risk

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More evidence vegetarian diet may cut cancer risk

Last Updated: 2004-02-16 12:17:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating a meat-free, vegetarian diet may

reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, new research suggests.

After following more than 10,000 people for 17 years, investigators

found that vegetarians were 15 percent less likely to develop colorectal

cancer than meat-eaters.

This study adds to the " increasing scientific evidence " that a diet rich

in fruit, vegetables and fiber and low in meat--especially red and

processed meat--can prevent colorectal cancer, study author Dr.

Sanjoaquin of the University of Oxford, UK, told Reuters Health.

However, Sanjoaquin cautioned that only a small number of study

participants -95--developed colorectal cancer, making it impossible to

determine if fewer vegetarians developed cancer simply due to chance.

However, Sanjoaquin noted that a previous study featuring more cases of

colorectal cancer confirmed these findings, and he added that it makes

sense that eating vegetarian could cut cancer risk. The fat in red meat

increases the excretion of substances called bile acids, he explained,

which in turn produce other substances that encourage tumor growth.

Furthermore, meat contains natural compounds and substances formed

during processing and high-temperature cooking that can disrupt the

normal balance of cell growth in the colon, potentially triggering the

cancer, Sanjoaquin noted.

Alternatively, substances in fruits and vegetables-- staples of the

vegetarian diet-- " may inhibit these adverse effects, " he added.

During the current study, Sanjoaquin and his colleagues asked 10,998

adults about their eating habits and other health parameters, then noted

who developed colorectal cancer.

People were classified as non-vegetarians if they ate meat or fish.

Vegetarians included vegans, who avoid all dairy and meat products.

Along with a decreased risk of cancer from eating vegetarian, the

investigators found that frequent fruit eaters - consuming more than 5

servings of fruit per week--were over 40 percent less likely to develop

colorectal cancer.

Smoking, drinking alcohol and eating more than 15 slices of white bread

per week appeared to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, according

to the British Journal of Cancer report.

Sanjoaquin said the fact that white bread appeared to reduce cancer risk

was " unexpected, " and suggested that people who ate large amounts of

white bread might have simply had a less healthy diet overall.

Alternatively, he added researchers have noted that eating large

quantities of refined carbohydrates, such as those found in white bread,

may raise colorectal cancer risk, suggesting that white bread itself may

also play a role.

" More research will be needed to clarify this, " Sanjoaquin said.

SOURCE: British Journal of Cancer, January 12, 2004

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